Media Organisations Using Facebook Live Effectively

Facebook Live allows users to share their experiences with their followers using real-time video. It’s white hot right now so if you haven’t tried it yet, do.

Facebook notifies your followers when you’re live to encourage them to tune in, making it a great platform to strengthen your relationship with your followers. Facebook has revealed that, on average, people spend three times longer watching Facebook Live videos compared to videos that are no longer live.

If you’re new to this platform, don’t worry. Here are examples of media organisations that are killing it on Facebook Live.

Joe Media

For the past three weeks, Joe Media has streamed a 30-minute weekly panel discussion about the Premier League, ‘Football Friday Live’. It features former Tottenham Hotspur footballer, Ledley King, and Joe.ie journalists, Tony Barrett, Dion Fanning and Jim Daly.

The TV-like programming Joe Media is making for Facebook Live has been well received by audiences. The first live episode got almost 400,000 views, and the second is coming close to the 200,000 mark. It is due to run to 38 episodes.

CEO of Joe Media, Will Hayward, sees huge opportunity in social video.

“At JOE, our bet is that social video is in its infancy. We are absolutely convinced that much of the premium video content that you now see on TV – news, entertainment, music – will come to exist as new formats, distributed via social platforms and on mobile. Football Friday Live is our first step to deliver on this promise. Expect many more shows and formats from us in the coming months,” he says.

Watching food being prepared could well be the next best thing to eating it. Tastemade, a global community of food and travel lovers, offers quick videos showing delicious recipes and treats being made from scratch.

They’ve taken this to the next level with their ‘Tiny Kitchen’ videos. Making the most of a tiny kitchen is something most of us have had to tackle at some stage in our lives. Mindful of this, Tastemade is preparing miniature versions of our favourite foods in a miniature kitchen.

‘Tiny Kitchen’ started as a pre-recorded series, but Tastemade decided to embrace the Facebook live platform and is now doing live cooking demonstrations.

Clearly, Tastemade is doing a great job with their ‘Tiny Kitchen’ live sessions as some videos are getting up to 4 million views.

Joe Wicks, or the Body Coach as he’s more commonly known, has taken social media by storm.

From videos that show him cooking his tasty #LeanIn15dishes to inspirational posts about staying on track, he has changed the way people think about dieting.

He’s used Facebook Live to do his high intensity interval training (HIIT) workout sessions, inspiring people who are struggling with their weight to adopt a healthier lifestyle. Wicks practices what he preaches, and has developed a real connection with his followers with these videos. You get to see he’s not some fitness god. He sweats, gets stitches, and tires during workouts like the rest of us.

His followers love these videos; his latest one has almost 400,000 views and more than 600 shares.

Buzzfeed has been a hit on Facebook for months now with its Tasty page’s live recipes and cooking tutorials. A live video posted (35 minutes long) of a ‘Tasty Chocolate Fondue Party’ received 5.4 million views, more than 11,000 likes and 104,000 comments – proving there’s something mesmerising about watching a chocolate fountain!

Why was this video so successful? The exploding watermelon concept, while simple and silly, worked as it built up to a climactic moment. People were transfixed to see the magical moment when that watermelon popped.

Airbnb and Disney

Airbnb partnered with Disney on the premiere of the Jungle Book. Airbnb built a treehouse for the occasion from which Disney livestreamed interviews on the red carpet. The video featured interviews with director Jon Favreau and actors Ben Kingsley and Lupita Nyong’o.

It was extremely popular with more than 1000,000 fans, who tuned in to the 80-minute livestream. These type of Facebook live streams go down well with followers as they give them VIP access to events that are out of bounds.

Live at the Airbnb Treehouse at the World Premiere of The #JungleBook!

On National Hamburger Day, McDonald’s embraced Facebook Live for the first time. The special show was called ‘The Starving Artist’ and featured an actor playing an artist named Bevin. He explained to viewers that he was going to take burgers from ‘mouth-worthy to museum-worthy’.

In the 40-minute video, the fast-food giant revealed three oil paintings, ‘The Beefy Gastronaut’ featuring the chain’s Quarter Pounder with cheese, the ‘Burger Brawn’ featuring the Big Mac and the ‘Beefy Peaks’.

LIVE: The Starving ArtistUPDATE: Bid now on the burger art from The Starving Artist: http://www.ebay.com/usr/burger-art-auction

With 24,000 views, McDonald’s first experience of Facebook Live was a success.

Tips for Facebook Live broadcasts:

Promote before you broadcast – Let your followers know when you intend to broadcast and what the session will be about. Although Facebook notifies your followers the moment you go live, it’s a good idea to do your own promotion too. Do some news feed posts a couple of days before the planned live session. Invite followers outside Facebook as well, such as your email subscribers.

Prepare and Practice – Obvious but important. Plan your location and what you’re going to talk about. Make sure you have no problem with sound or visuals. Live broadcasts are not easy so make sure you get plenty of practice beforehand to eliminate stumbling and stuttering.

Be human – Remember, you’re interacting with other people so engage with them. Don’t just say what you have to and cut the broadcast. Read the comments and answer any questions the viewers may have. Ask them to suggest topics for future broadcasts.

Analyse the results – Facebook allows you to see the total number of people who watched at least a portion of your video and the number of viewers watching at different points. It also shows the number of reactions, comments and shares.

Note these results after every Facebook Live broadcast. You’ll be able to tell the broadcasts that did well from the damp squibs.

Facebook Live has opened up a world of opportunity for brands and media organisations. At the rate it’s going with so many brands jumping on board, it’s set to be the next big thing.

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